Crowsnest Fires

Details

• August 21, 2003

• Seasonal wildfire got out of control

• Wall of flames stretched 6 km long and 50 m high

• Produced energy equivalent to an atomic explosion every 30 minutes

Resident Evacuations

• People forced to abandon their homes

• Example: Elaine Hruby• Told to evacuate at 10 am• Grabbed her pets and some random

possessions• All she could do was drive away and watch the

fire spread.

Impact

• 20,000 hectares of forest burned

• Local tourism hit hard by fires

• Other local businesses unaffected• Dry cleaners, gas stations, restaurants, etc.

Spray Lake Sawmills

• Benefited from the fire

• Able to salvage burnt lumber• 28% quota of salvage rights

• Amount of actual salvage depends on the extent of the damage and the cost to access debris

Ecological Impact

• Large, old forests inhibit undergrowth

• Fires can have a positive ecological impact

• New life will eventually grow in the area impacted by the fire

• Leads to ecological diversity

From this...

To this...

Image SourcesForest Fires [Online Image].  (n.d.).  Retrieved Sept. 21, 2009, from

filebuzz.com.  http://www.filebuzz.com/fileinfo/9829/Forest_Fires.html.

Forest Fire Aftermath [Online image].  (n.d.).  Retrieved Sept. 21, 2009, from wikipedia.org.  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Forest_fire_aftermath.jpg.

Moore, William (Photographer).  (2009, June 29).  [Photograph of forest fire regrowth, Lake Tahoe], [Online image].  Lake Tahoe and Virginia City – opposites attract [Web log message].  Retrieved Sept. 21, 2009, from http://bmoore3photos.blogspot.com/2009/06/lake-tahoe-and-virginia-city-opposites.html.

Richard (Photographer).  (2009, July 4) Crowsnest Pass Sunset, [Online image].  Some mountains at day’s end [Web log message].  Retrieved Sept. 21, 2009, from http://my.opera.com/musickna/blog/2009/07/04/some-mountains-at-days-end.